NOW WE THE PEOPLE

November 2, 2001

Media Release


Attention:    Chief of Staff

Election Reporting Team

Election 2001

Rating the candidates on economic rationalism

The Greens, Progressive Labour, and Democrats score very high for challenging economic rationalism with democratic, fair and non-racial policies, including for full employment. Labor also rated high on this test, according to a survey by NOW WE THE PEOPLE.

In contrast, the Liberal Party rejected all the positive policies put forward, except for the most general statements of support for public education and human rights. No Liberal candidates agreed to do the survey, but Campaign director Lynton Crosby sent in a lengthy written reply. There was no response at all by the National Party.

On the right of the spectrum, One Nation and Citizens Electorate Council candidates opposed economic rationalism in a narrow sense, but did not embrace equality for all.

One Nation candidates rejected any positive policies toward Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, legal aid for asylum seekers, and any commitment to international human rights conventions, or moves for a Republic.

CEC was prepared to support a Republic, and international human rights standards. CEC supported many positive environment policies, but wanted continued support for uranium mining and a new Lucas Heights nuclear reactor.

Many candidates from all parties, apart from Greens and Progressive Labour, were unsure of questions related to the regulation of banks and the finance sector, the World Trade Organisation, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the US National Missile Defence Program.
Notably, all candidates, except for the Liberal Party, agreed:

  • no further privatisation of TELSTRA

  • restore ABC's funding and independence to pre-Howard levels

  • restore university and TAFE funding to pre-Howard levels and reverse the trend to privatisation and user pays

  • close all overseas tax havens

  • support the ACF/NFF $60 billion plan to halt salination of the Murray-Darling Basin

  • mandatory labelling of all food products with any genetically engineered ingredients

  • truth-in-labelling for all foods

The face-to-face interviews were held with Federal Election candidates to test their support for the policies developed at the NOW WE THE PEOPLE national conference in Sydney in July this year, attended by over 400 people.

Those voters conducting the survey were often confronted on the telephone with an initial refusal to meet - because the candidate was too busy campaigning among the voters! This was especially true of the Liberal and many Labor candidates who insisted that policies were the business of the party HQ.

Responses came from The Greens - 10, Australian Democrats - 5, Labor - 4, One Nation - 2, Progressive Labour -1, Liberal Party - 1, CEC - 1, Independents - 2.
These were from the electorates of Braddon, Bradfield, Calare, Cowper, Gilmore, Herbert, Macquarie, North Sydney, Paterson, Robertson, Wentworth; and from the Senate elections in Queensland and NSW.

The full text of the survey is available here.

For further comment: Peter Murphy 02 9211 4164